Nick Kyrgios may have been the most outspoken critic of world No 1 Jannik Sinner since he failed two drug tests last March, but Novak Djokovic’s high-profile contribution to this story confirmed he not alone in raising concerns about the issue of doping in tennis.
Kyrgios described Sinner and Iga Swiatek’s positive doping tests as “disgusting” as he spoke to the media ahead of his return to action after a long injury lay-off.
The combative Australian has been a vociferous critic of Sinner since he escaped a ban following a positive doping test after an anabolic steroid was found to be in his system.
The World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed a decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to clear Sinner of blame and Kygios piled the pressure on the defending Australian Open champion as he spoke to the media in Brisbane.
“I have to be outspoken about it because I don’t think there’s enough people that are speaking about it. I think people are trying to sweep it under the rug.
“I just think that it’s been handled horrifically in our sport. Two world No 1’s both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport. It’s a horrible look.
“The tennis integrity right now – and everyone knows it, but no one wants to speak about it – it’s awful. It’s actually awful. And it’s not OK.
“I know that people don’t like when I just speak out about things, be honest about things.
“For a kid that grew up playing tennis, I enjoyed the competition, I enjoyed playing. I can get emotional, I can throw a racquet, but that’s nothing compared to cheating and taking performance-enhancing drug performance-enhancing drugs. That’s ridiculous in my opinion.
“I’m not going to shut up about it anyway. Like, yeah. Sorry, I probably went a bit too long. That’s just my honest thoughts.”
Djokovic was asked about those bold comments as he spoke to the media in Brisbane and while he offered up more thoughtful comments, it was clear that he broadly agreed with Kyrgios, who he is playing doubles alongside in the ATP Tour event this week.
“We live in a world where everyone has the right to express themselves, especially on social media,” said Djokovic.
“Nick has spoken a lot about the whole Jannik doping case, and he’s right about the transparency and the inconsistency of the protocols and the comparisons between the various cases.
“We have seen many players in the past, and also currently, who have been suspended for not even having undergone anti-doping tests and for not having communicated their whereabouts, and some lower-ranked players who have been waiting for their cases to be resolved for more than a year.”
He went on address the Sinner case directly as he added: “We’ve been kept in the dark with Jannik’s case. I don’t question whether the prohibited substance was taken intentionally or not.
Predictably, Djokovic was a little more cautious with his comments than Kyrgios, but the Serbian’s gravitas in the sport ensures that his contribution to the debate around the Sinner case will hit home.
Sinner is widely expected to face a ban from tennis at some point in 2025 once WADA’s appeal against the lack of punishment handed out to him by the ITIA is heard.
The Sinner and Swiatek cases have had a negative impact on the credibility of the anti-doping programme in tennis, with the ITIA coming under fire for the way they have handled those two high-profile cases.
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